‘If You Were To Die Tonight’: Preacher Causes Panic In Theater At ‘Avengers’ Showing

REDLANDS (CBSLA) — An outing to catch one of the season’s most anticipated films turned into a panic-filled afternoon for some moviegoers Friday.

Armed officers rushed to the Harkins Mountain Grove 16 theaters in Redlands, where people had just finished watching the latest installment of the “Avengers” franchise, fearing there might a gunman inside. Witnesses said when the movie was over, a man stood up and started yelling in what sounded like a preacher’s sermon.

“I think when he said, ‘If you were to die tonight, would your passage to heaven be guaranteed?’ — something along those lines — I think that’s when people started panicking,” Susie Arias told CBS2 News.

Arias said she and her partner were able to walk out, but they said people behind them started running and pushing in an effort to exit quickly.

“That’s when the kind of chaos happened in the little exit, where people were jumping over the railings, and kind of falling over, twisting their ankles and hitting their head,” recalled Adrian Arias.

In footage taken immediately after the incident, a man can be seen limping out of the theater. Police said a woman hit her head and had to be hospitalized.

Freedom of speech is limited to government not being able to interfere with it. If you’re on private property, which the movie theater is, they can kick you out for whatever – hopefully good – reason they have. If I were them, I would ban that moron.

The level of stupidity of so many is astounding! The preacher is an idiot! I understand that yelling ‘fire’ in a theater is a crime. People panic. What difference in this instance? People paniced! Now, some may wonder if there are more of his compatriots preparing to mow down the people. Therefore, at the very minimum, those hurt should sue his ass. They may not get far, but it surely will inconvenience him and possibly lose his church. He should be barred from all theaters for his stupidity. Unfortunately, we can assume that since anything goes in society today, he will not pay a price or won’t get any justice punishment.

Which begs the question: If you died tonight would you wake up in hell of heaven? People panic now at the very thought of that reality. You are going to one place or the other. Thank the preacher for bringing it to your attention. You petty snide remarks will not go over very well on judgment day.

People today are scared of their own shadows, very sad. It reminds me of that bar a decade or more ago when a dozen or so people suffocated to death after there was a stampede because someone sprayed mace and people thought it was a terrorist attack.

The street preacher picked a bad location, only because too many people get scared easily and will run over others, shove them to the ground, place others in harm’s way, etc. to escape any perceived threat to themselves.

It used to be when someone acting hysterical would get slapped in the face, or placed in a padded room, to bring them back to reality. Today it is an heroic act to RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! EVERYONE FOR THEMSELVES!

‘If you were to die tonight, would your passage to heaven be guaranteed?’…Loving words that will be considered hate speech shortly in the U.S., as it is in most of the world today.

While probably not the brightest thing he could have done or the correct venue for this message, the message none the less was a valid question that all should answer for themselves personally regardless of their religious or non-religious beliefs.

Even aside from the ‘passage to heaven be guaranteed’ bit, what does the individual really believe will be his or her final outcome in death? We tend to think, ‘oh that is not going to me so I don’t need to think about it’ and when death takes us are totally unprepared for it. Or we may tell ourselves, ‘That happens to the other guy but it isn’t going to happen to me.’ But the media is full of news that tells a much different story.

There is a saying that goes something like ‘nobody makes it out alive’ meaning that sooner or later death is going to be the inevitable outcome for everyone. Given that few wake up in the morning say, ‘I think I am going to die today’ and for many death takes them without forewarning, isn’t it possibly a good idea to ask yourself this question honestly and honestly give yourself an answer?

It’s apparent from the panic reaction of those who fled for their lives that they obviously had not answered the question for themselves adequately.

If you really want to turn people off to Christianity, do dumb things like that young preacher…the timing of it, all wrong. What’s he doing, discussing “dying and going to heaven” if he himself is watching a kid’s movie with everyone else. Pick your spot dum dum.

Why don’t people say anything when Black kids start rapping OFFENSIVE LYRICS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET and act like little aholes, and this preacher doesn’t say one offensive thing, yes, inappropriate time and place…Why the overreaction??? that part I don’t get. What I do know is this: Common Sense in America, DIMINISHING FAST!

1. In the middle of the street, you have more options to avoid the group of kids if you don’t like what they’re doing, or you think they might be dangerous. In a movie theater, you have a couple hundred people with limited movement being frightened.
2. The middle of the street is public, and free speech is protected there whether you like the rappers or the reverend. On privately owned property, like the theater, you don’t have that right.
3. Movie theater shootings are still fresh on people’s minds. How stupid do you have to be to stand up and yell at people about dying while the lights are still out? Once he started yelling people are going to start reacting, and the less they will hear. If he starts out talking about dying, the rest will get drowned out, and people will reacting only to that.

This incident is nothing compared to if you die without confessing that Jesus is your Lord and Savior. He allows everyone to make their own choice. The book of Matthew in the Bible says that when the time comes angels will be sent to separate Righteous versus Unrighteous. Righteous will go be with the father in Heaven while the unrighteous will be sent to the lake of burning fire. This is for Eternity. Gnashing of teeth and screams of pain is all you have to look forward to. This Christian man is right to warn people NOW for tomorrow maybe too late. Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior TODAY!

I have a website entirely devoted to the modern, technological equivalent of shouting “FIRE” in a crowded theater. It could be the next 9/11 – a “dominipede” or domino stampede. Likely impacting the NFL 1 o’clock slate. agsaf.org (Artificially Generated Stampede Awareness Foundation)

There is a time and a place for preaching and a privately owned movie theater is not the place nor the time. People are there to watch a movie – not be preached to. Yes, I am Christian, but not an obnoxious, self-righteous one whose arrogance leads me to believe I am going to Heaven but people I don’t even know anything about are not. It is the evangelicals that give Christians a bad name and this just proves it.

The comments here – so much self-aggrandizing as if going to church automatically equates to being Heaven-bound. Ridiculous.

Right wings either spouting hate and white supremacy under the guise of “immigration control” while at the same time supporting a nut job whose “family values” campaign has proven him to be a liar of the highest degree. What a bunch of ignorant morons. As if you’re going to Heaven but the rest of us are not. pffft…..complete and utter delusion, but if that helps you sleep at night…whatever.